Robin Appleby ready to take on role of Head of School next fall

Mrs. Appleby is set to become the eighth head of school starting next fall. Photo Courtesy of Mrs. Appleby
Mrs. Appleby is set to become the eighth head of school starting July 2017 (photo courtesy of Mrs. Appleby).

Following an in-depth search conducted by a search committee and Board of Trustees, Mrs. Robin S. Appleby was appointed as the eighth Head of School at the American School in London (ASL) on October 5.  Mrs. Appleby will begin at ASL starting in July 2017, following the retirement of Mrs. Coreen R. Hester.

Mrs. Appleby decided to apply for the position as Head of School because of ASL’s excellent reputation throughout the international school community.  Another reason she applied was because ASL is a place that, “celebrates diversity and offers opportunities to kids from all over the world and those are the kinds of schools I most like working in.”

Mrs. Appleby also knows people who have worked at ASL over the years, and they have all spoken very highly of the school.  She mentioned that, “there are very few jobs in the world where you get to get up in the morning and go to a place where there are kids all day, and where the mission of the work is actually to get people ready for the future,” and really appreciates that about her job as a teacher.

The soon-to-be Head of School has a real passion for what she has done at previous schools and will bring experience, interest, and a real desire to be a part of the school’s community – along with her family, who will also be contributing to the ASL community.

Her husband, John Leavey, will be supporting the school community by possibly coaching sports or being a substitute math teacher.  He will start after helping the family settle into their new home.  Mrs. Appleby’s daughter, Eden, will be enrolled in sixth grade starting in the fall.

Mrs. Appleby holds very vivid memories of her middle school experiences, “One of my funnier memories from middle school was [that] I play basketball because I’m tall, and at some point in the beginning of the basketball season in my eighth grade year I accidentally shot a basket for the wrong team. Like into the wrong basket. I scored for the other team!” she explained while laughing with a huge smile.  Mrs. Appleby went to a traditional junior high that was only grades seven and eight. Among other activities, she participated in journalism, wrote for the student newspapers, played basketball, and was in the jazz band.

Mrs. Appleby has a wealth of experience teaching and holding administrative positions in independent and international schools similar to ASL. She has taught or been an administrator at the State University of New York at Buffalo, the Nichols School in Buffalo, New York, Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, the American School of The Hague, Dubai American Academy, and the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. While at these schools, she has overseen many transformations of the day to day functioning of the entire school.

Mrs. Appleby’s message to everyone at ASL is, “Thank you to all the people who reached out to me. I have had lots of emails  from people welcoming me to the community and that feels really, really good because it feels like people are excited for the future.”

About Eli Nilson ('21)

News Editor (2016-2017)

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